Tale of a num
by Biigoh
Summary: Utter and complete nonsense... but how does one determine what is sensible and what is nonsensical? Come, hear the tale of a num.
1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there was a num...  
A wild num that knew not others of its kind,  
for it had been driven out of the village of the nums.

Long and far it travelled from the village of nums...  
Numerous challenges it faced and many a num-eating monster slain.  
Wild and strong this num became. wily in the ways of the world.

But it was still a sad num...  
for it was alone and there were no other nums to play with it.


	2. Chapter 2

Many a moon had it been since the num had dealt with the nyarr.

Oh, the dreadful nyarr, sharp of fangs, long of claws and master of its slithering tentacles.  
It would have devoured the num as it had many a other creature.

Fierce and long had that battle been, and the num would not say that the nyarr might not have won.

But for the fact the num was not like other nums.  
A weak num.  
A soft num.  
Not hale of body, strong of limbs, wise in the ways of battle.  
And hollow without the passion that drove the wild num onwards.

And so the num had fought. Fist against claw, strong teeth against dreadful fangs.  
Seven days upon seven nights.  
Beneath the golden sun goddess, and beneath the abalaster moon goddess, as they wandered across the heavens.  
East to west

If those who had driven the num out of its village had seen it... they would have known,  
that truly the wild num was a monster and that they were right to do so.

For naught but a monster could face the nyarr and live. Let along win. Yet, the num had done so.

In the end, the nyarr fell. The ground shaking as its body over a hundred shaku long collapsed.

From that battle, the num bore many a scar... over which it wore with pride, the hide of the nyarr. And in hands... weapons.  
For the num forged of the claws, blades that it could use. Its own claws.

And yet... despite that victory, it was still a sad num...  
for it was alone and there were no other nums to witness its victory.


	3. Chapter 3

Over hill and dale, across rivers and around lakes, the wild num wandered.  
Traveling by the light of the sun goddess,  
Sleeping beneath the moon goddess and listening to her myrid daughters, the stars that sang.  
The wild num was lonely, but it knew that traveling the wild has but made it stronger!

Did not the Nyarr fall beneath his pounding fists?  
Did it not run down wild stags to slay for meals?  
Have not the fierce Arlo fled from its mere presence?

Aye, the wild num knew it was strong with a strength that could only came from crushing loneliness.  
A strength and vitality that could n'er come from living behind walls.  
For that path led only to softness.

Tis was in the twilight of the setting sun as it wandered over a tall hill that the num found Hyuu.

Ah, the city of Hyuu... much has been said of it in antiquity,  
of the fell warlocks that once ruled it with magics most dark and perilous,  
of the dire knights that freed it with sharp swords and glimming steel,  
and of the terrible ruin that befell it.

Ah... but the num looked upon Hyuu when it was yet young before the world moved on.  
Tis was an age that once was, and would be in an unforseen future...

But the num knew that it wouldn't be alone for intelligent hands had wrought the city before it,  
and what hands but that of the num were intelligent?


	4. Chapter 4

The num entered the city of Hyuu,  
a wild mane of hair hidden beneath the hide of the Nyarr,  
in rough strong hands, weapons most dire.

Upon feet covered with the soil of the world,  
Thus did the wild num enter Hyuu.

The good folk of Hyuu cried out;

_"Tis no beast, for it walks upon two legs  
nor man, for it hides not its honor with clothes  
nor woman, for it wears fur as clothes_

What a wonderous and fearsome thing it must be!  
A creature that is not a beast, man, nor woman."

And so, the wild num strong and wise in the ways of the world wandered Hyuu.


	5. Chapter 5

A multitude of words around it spoken by the not-Nums...  
the num wandered the city of Hyuu.  
It was if it had returned to its village.  
That is... if the village of the nums had been over ten by ten times larger.

The outcry of those of Hyuu were in words that the Num could understand...  
But they were words fashioned in a manner that it had not thought to use.

And thus the Num wandered Hyuu.

Til, it was brought before the King of Hyuu.  
Once, he had been hale of body, tall and wide as the upright drek tree.  
Once, the ruby crown sat upon a mane of ebon hair.  
But that was once upon a time, long ago...  
Before the king of Hyuu had fallen before the more dire of villains.  
The terrible crone, of old, known as Time, but oftimes also called Age.

"_Truly, you are a marvel to behold.  
A being that is no beast, nor man, nor woman.  
As was foretold ere Auu was stolen from us by the dreadful KonKon.  
Please sit... hear our plea, oh fierce one from beyond the yonder._"

To which, the num had but an answer as he settled down before the king upon his throne of ebony.

"Num."


	6. Chapter 6

_"Know ye, oh strange being, that once upon a time,  
we who bear the blessings of the Kyuu walked unfettered without fear or misery!  
That there was a time before the curse of PeeCee was yet uttered.  
Strong and wild, were we!"_

The Num nodded in appreciation.  
Strength was what divided the weak and the strong.  
It was the barrier between that which is meat and that which eats well!

"Num."

_"Strong and wild, were we,"_  
The king uttered sadly in memory of what was,  
'ere that dreadful crone Time had struck him low.

_"Rough were our ways,  
'ere the raising of the walls and floors of Hyuu.  
Many were the enemies we made by our rude blades,  
and felled as we hewed back and forth,  
o'er this land with blades most brutal and unthinking.  
Sharp were our tongues and wits as we proclaimed ourselves lords of all,  
Equal to all in the heavens and earth."_

"Ah, but our pride.  
Tis was our pride that made us proclaim that,  
for you see,  
the beauteous Auu had came into our possession.  
Beyond comparison, she was."

"Num?"

The Num could only murmur in confusion.  
What was this thing called beauty?  
Was not strength that came of loneliness and rage enough?

_"We had liberated 'er from oppression,  
A maiden held in bondage,  
Made to suffer for the pleasure of others.  
Brought low those who tormented her.  
And taken her from them,  
O'er hills, across dales, and be'neath lakes of stilled light."_

"Made of 'er the pride and joy of Hyuu,  
For a maiden as wondrous as she?  
Was of the divine,  
And from her lips fell words most holy."

The Num nodded slowly.  
It knew not of such things.

And yet, there was a compelling thing in those words spoken,  
spoken by the king of Hyuu.  
A glittering truth.  
Unseen and unsought, as a star at dawn,  
when the sun goddess ascended in victory,  
and the moon goddess descended in defeat.

_"Aye, of 'er words, we kenned and penned,  
inscribing them that they be made eternal.  
Immortality given to the.  
She spoke of a time when Hyuu would lose 'er,  
to our dismay and detriment."_

"She sang of your coming,  
Oh, strange being that is not a beast, man, nor woman.  
And of her rescue from her fetters."

"Then the KonKon came,  
Countless beyond perception,  
Upon peerless chariots of seamless metal,  
pulled by the unspeakable BeeSess.  
Crimson ran from their blades,  
to form many rivers that fed an endless ruby ocean."

"Num..."

Here, the Num nodded in appreciation.  
Such a foe sounded worthy to face!  
No disappointment would be gained in such a battle.

_"Alas, to our dismay,  
We found that the curse of PeeCee,  
uttered by the Kyuuti,  
Held unthinkable might."_

"Our arms restrained,  
We could only watch,  
Watch as they laughed,  
And made sport of us.  
And stole from us our pride,  
The heart and soul of Hyuu."  
  
The white maned king,  
upon whom a troubled brow didst rest a ruby crown,  
and who sat upon an ebony throne,  
wept.

Tears of a proud one  
Whose pride had been sundered,  
who had been laid low by curse vile,  
and the Crone Time, enemy of all.

_"I, nay, all of Hyuu,  
Begs of you,  
Oh wondrous being descended not of beast, nor man, nor woman,  
Go forth."_

"Across the sea of singing stars,  
Astride the fields of unrepentant day,  
Beneath the gaze of the Silver Goddess,  
Beneath the aegis of the Golden Queen."

"Save the pride of Hyuu.  
Rescue our beauteous Auu,  
from the perverse and degenerate bondage of the KonKon,  
Before it is too late."

"Num!"

And thus, did the Num nod.  
It stood tall,  
Back unbowed by Time,  
for no enemy such as a crone would bring it low.

Garbed in the hide and fur of the Nyarr,  
And armed with its claws,  
didst the Num stride forth from the city of Hyuu.

Ah, the city of Hyuu... much has been said of it in antiquity,  
of the fell warlocks that once ruled it with magics most dark and perilous,  
of the dire knights that freed it with sharp swords and glimmering steel,  
and of the terrible ruin that befell it.

North by South did it wander,  
Guided by instincts cunning.

An adventure with a goal was the Num upon,  
Given by Not-Nums that had once been like it,  
but not.

For in the end, there were none like the Num.


	7. Chapter 7

The Num traveled from the fabled city of Hyuu.

To the distant North it wandered,  
To the unknown South it strode.

Eastwards, it traversed,  
Westwards, it meandered.

Up mountains, it climbed.  
Down into the depths of valleys and crevasses, it descended.

Many were the nights that it slept beneath the open heavens,  
Long were the days where it journeyed.

Ever forward.  
Never back.

The Num swam across the sea of the singing stars,  
now silenced as they danced without words,  
or thought.

Fierce were their dance as they fluttered,  
blades of prisma hues glittered.

The Num made its way across,  
across the ever distant shores of prose,  
Uncut.

Beneath the gaze of the Silver Goddess of the Moon,  
It survived unshattered, hale and whole.

Before the Num lay a golden expanse,  
the domain of the Golden Queen.  
She who ruled the day by fiet of her might.

"Num." It declared.

Such a thing was not unexpected in its quest given onto it,  
And yet... it was most troublesome.

But it continued onwards.

Ever forward.  
Never back.

For it was the Num, wild and brave,  
Fierce beyond compare.

And it was alone and there were no other nums to witness what it had seen.  
For what it would see, there were no other to share it with.


	8. Chapter 8

The Num stepped forth on to the plains of the Golden Queen,  
Ruler of the Brilliant Day,

Unfettered and unbowed, he walked.  
Covered in the rude dust of the earth,  
he continued into the realm of She who ruled the heavens.

Light flowed from the skies above,  
unrelenting as an endless noon.  
In the distance, golden crimson and violent hung,  
an unreachable haze of dawn and dusk.  
Golden blades rose from the ground as grass,  
keen and sharp without compare.

Walked the Num hence,  
unrepentant and unbowed,  
Eyes unblinking,  
even if squinting.

"_An outrage,_" cried countless voices.  
"_A wild beast of the earth wandering here!  
Beneath the divine gaze of the Golden Queen!  
Death to the unclean thing._"

Ten thousand and one blades rose as one,  
golden edges honed to an invisible edge  
for they cut light itself,  
shafts, long and stern, wielded by hands unseen  
beneath the ground.

"_Harumpt! Harumpt!_"  
Then thousand and one voices cried as one,  
as their wielded blades charged as one.

To splash against that which was the Num,  
clad in the hide of the Nyarr.

Resolute and unrepentant, the Num smiled  
and spread wide its arms,  
to welcome the countless blades as a golden sea.

"Num."


	9. Chapter 9

It was as if the Num did spend an eternity upon that golden plains,  
and yet, it was but an instant against infinite time.

Countless moments came and went,  
thus did the golden blades rise as one,  
and hence did they strike as one.

The Num roared,  
it raged and rampaged,  
its claws were of primal fury.  
Untamed! Beholden to none but the Num!

Ten thousand and one blades fell upon the Num,  
clad in the hide of the Nyarr.  
Tis said that the Nyarr could not be fell by blade,  
not by things crafted of the world.  
And thus did its hide prove the truth of that tale.

Ten thousand and one blades, peerless  
that even light itself was cut upon their edge,  
of the countless blades that rose as one and fell as one,  
none pierce the hide of the Nyarr.

The Num laughed in response,  
For it was futile to stand against it.  
Clearly.  
Obviously.  
Such was proclaimed upon the world.

"Num!" It cried out in joy  
as its claws moved as the wind,  
swift as lightning,  
and as relentless as an avalanche.

Where its claws had passed,  
shafts forged of gold tempered  
by the heat of the sun  
and the secret fires of the world,  
shattered.

Golden dust,  
broken fragments lay behind the Num's path.

There was only a fierce joy  
as the Num fought the very world,  
'til it stood upon the hill  
at the center of that golden plain.

Surrounded by devastation,  
ten thousand and one spears had risen,  
but it was not the Num that had fallen,  
rather it was they.

The world of the Golden Queen,  
peerless in its perfection,  
held a solemn silence,  
desecration held court here now.

And thus did the Num look up upon the Golden Queen,  
She who ruled the Heavens,  
who gifted the world with a bounty of light,  
whose very presence brought harmony and life.

The Num looked up at her, arms akimbo.

For the very golden sea that reflected the Brilliant Day  
had been found wanting.  
They were weak.  
Ten Thousand and One had fought the Num,  
And the Num was yet unmarked.

Thus did the wild and fierce Num gaze upon  
the Golden Queen, Ruler of the Brilliant Day,  
and thus did it declare its displeasure.

"Num."

And a challenge.


End file.
